Thread: Disassemble a chair without damage?

It depends how they were put together. If they are traditionally jointed and glued then gentle persuasion is the key.

I use a pair of clamps and my workbench, putting the side to be disassembled flat on the bench, clamp the back of the frame firmly to the rear i the bench and then arrange another clamp between the workpiece and the front of the bench.

Slowly doing the front clamp up pulls the work piece apart gently and with total control.

(reading all that back it isn't very clear, but hopefully you get the idea!)

A mallet, unless the joints are very loose can be to rough, damaging both wood and joint.

Depends on the glue - if hide then you can soak the joints in metho which will dissolve the glue and you can pull it apart. Other glue types this either wont work or not as well.

I did they last year to a small arm chair. A forum member gave me a tip to get bar/sash clamps with heads that can go either way. Reverse them to normal and slowly tighten as you're soaking/soaked the joint in solvent/whatever - basically works as a spreader.

The other option is to get some of this stuff

Veritas® Chair Doctor Glue : CARBA-TEC

The biggest problems can come if someone has 'repaired' them earlier. Watch out for hidden nails etc.
Cheers,
Jim

Thanks for the replies! I like the pipe clamp idea. Probably a bit more controlled than what I had in mind.

If they have been made using hide glue a bit of heat will soften the glue and then you can just pull the pieces apart.

Good luck with the project

Something for the future.

make sure you get all the old glue off before you try to reassemble and use some other glue type.